The Wolf at the Door
by Invader Skrabb
Summary: Kirk, McCoy, Spock and a security team beam down to a colony which are being haunted by a terrible wolfish monster. The crew, haunted by nightmares and with Spock's mind invaded by the monster, and can only a little girl in a red cloak save them all? Always remember, stay on the path when you walk through the woods. Loosely based on Little Red Riding Hood.
1. Nightmares

**The Girl and the Wolf**

"Captains log, stardate 3123.42. Position, orbiting a planet in the Omicron Delta region, as we have received a distress call from the colony. Doctor McCoy, Mister Spock, myself and a security team shall be beaming down shortly to investigate. I will be leaving Mister Sulu in charge while I'm gone."

"Captain," the Vulcan had patiently been waiting beside James T Kirk, as the captain of the Enterprise spoke into the device he used to record his logs. Kirk turned his head to his friend and first officer.

"Yes Mister Spock?"

"The landing party is leaving shortly, I suggest we make our way there immediately."

Kirk, after taking one glance at the green world on the screen before his helmsman Sulu, stood from his command chair and followed his friend down to the transporter room.

The two walked in silence after leaving the lift, before Kirk spoke up, "Spock, what was the nature of the distress call again?"

The Vulcan raised his strangely pointed eyebrows at the captain, "I fail to understand how you could forget."

"I've been up all night Mister Spock," Kirk mumbled defensively, glancing away from the first officers piercing dark eyes.

"Ah, yes, your nightmares," the Vulcan recalled, "I have to tell you Captain that I have never understood the irrational fear of nightmares."

"Is that so."

"Yes, Captain. Being a Vulcan, I have no concept of fear, therefore I cannot fathom how a brave starship captain such as yourself can be frightened of his own sub consciousness' imagination."

The tight lipped first officer seldom gave any indication of his feelings for the crew (of course, he apparently had no feelings) but every once in a while something would slip, and to Kirk, and surely everyone else aboard the U.S.S Enterprise, that was extremely satisfying.

Kirk looked at Spock, who quickly glanced away, "You think I'm brave, Mister Spock?"

"I am merely stating facts, Captain," he replied.

Kirk couldn't hide his grin, "Still, Spock, you didn't answer my question."

"Yes, the nature of the distress call. The transmission was somewhat distant, therefore hard to hear even for myself, but the inhabitants definitely mentioned a monster."

"A monster, like the Horta in those mines?"

"No. This apparently looked something like one of your Earth grey wolves. Except bigger. Much bigger."  
Kirk was about to ask another question, but he hadn't even realised that they had come to the transporter room, and entered to find McCoy talking to the three members of the security team. Mister Scott stood at the panel.

"Hey Jim," McCoy greeted cheerfully, "how are you?"

"You seem in a good mood, Bones," Kirk said, the cheerful mood of his best friend had caught him off guard, in a good way, "Hello Mister Scott."

"Captain, Mister Spock," the engineer replied in his signature highland drawl, "the beamin' pad's all ready for you sir. By the way, how're yer nightmares? Still bad, eh?"

"Yes, Scotty, disturbing as ever." The captain replied, and they all stepped onto the beaming pad.

"You ever had a nightmare, Mister Spock?" McCoy asked the Vulcan with a smile on his face, though not a genuine one.

"I find your statement strewn with gaping defects in logic," he replied, "I am a Vulcan."

"We've all had nightmares, Spock. Even you."

"I assure you, I am incapable of fear, therefore incapable of nightmares."

McCoy shrugged, "Sure. Whatever you say."

Kirk didn't even have to look to know that his first officer had rolled his eyes and looked away from the doctor, taking that sharp intake of breath which was usually the only indication that the Vulcan had grown impatient.

"Energize."

"Alright," the captain said, "assuming that there actually _is_ a monster here, why has it only started a month ago? This colony has been established for years."

The old woman, leader of the colony, nodded sadly, "I know Captain Kirk. But the killings have been happening once every night. Everyone was killed in the exact same way; a large bite mark on the neck, from which they bled to death."

The crew stood in front of the woman where she sat at her desk, gazing up at them with her big round spectacles. Her wizened face and slightly hunched shoulders echoed her age, but even for someone so ancient, she was very wise and from what Kirk could tell, sympathetic and intelligent.

Her sad smile crinkled her face further, "And ever since the monster has come, everyone's been having terrible nightmares."

Spock glanced at Kirk. Kirk glanced at Spock. McCoy elbowed Kirk in the side, "Is it like _your_ bad dreams, Jim?"

"What are the nightmares about?" asked Kirk. He knew it was probably a coincidence that he and the inhabitants of this planet were having nightmares, but he had just wanted to make sure. It would make him feel better.

"General nightmares," the woman whom went by the name of Mrs. Partridge shrugged, "about the most primal of fears. I, myself, have been dreaming about ghosts and banshees."

"Our Captain has been experiencing nightmares also," Spock said, fixing the woman with an unreadable stare, "do you think your monster could be affecting him also?"

Again, the woman shrugged her hunched shoulders, and spoke with that voice that cracked with age, "Who knows? It might just be a coincidence, but I believe anyone colonised on this planet will surely have nightmares, including all of you."

Kirk noticed Mrs. Partridge, out of all of them, looked at Spock the longest. Spock looked away, awkwardly, and said, "Your deduction is logical, Mrs. Partridge. But I believe we shall stay despite the present danger, won't we Captain?"

Kirk grinned again when he spotted the Vulcan's ever sceptical gaze, "Yes, Mister Spock."

Mrs. Partridge nodded, stood from her chair, "My grand daughter will show you to your rooms. Sylvia!"

The crew turned to see a girl, perhaps thirteen or fourteen, glide into the room wearing a red cloak and a frilly white dress. She wore black plimsolls, white socks, and a very pretty smile that lit up her green eyes. Pitch black, curly hair flowed around her delicate shoulders. Kirk blinked, McCoy smiled welcomingly, and as usual Mister Spock's face was as placid as ever.

"Evening, gentlemen," Sylvia smiled, plump red lips catching Kirk's eye, "I'm Sylvia, I'll show you to your rooms. Follow me, please."

"You work here...?" Kirk asked, falling into step beside the pretty young girl as she led he and the crew down the hall.

"Sort of," she replied, in a voice that rung like wind chimes in the back of the captain's head, "I suppose you could call it volunteer work. Mrs. Partridge is my grandmother you see, so I just do it to help her out."

"Do you live in here? Or do you...?"

"Oh, I live in the woods, perhaps a mile form here. I assure you Captain, it's quite safe," she spotted the shocked look in his eyes. Surely, a little girl can't live in the woods with a monster running amok? "Nothing's happened to me so far, why now?"

"I see defects in your logic, Miss Silvia," Spock said casually.

Sylvia looked back at the Vulcan with widened eyes, "How so?"

"Well, perhaps the monster just hasn't found you yet." He replied.

"Spock, please," growled McCoy, "This isn't the time."

"There is never a good time for my logical reasoning, is there Doctor?"

"Damn right there isn't."  
"Gentlemen, please," Sylvia laughed, "I know how to protect myself, honestly. I'm not a helpless little girl, you know. Here we are. Captain Kirk, this is your room,"

Sylvia led them into their room, a luxurious place. The living room was white and clean, and two doorways led to a bathroom and a bedroom.

"Thank you, Sylvia."

She nodded, and gestured for the others to follow her, this time she addressed the Vulcan as Kirk was left in the room alone, "What's your name, sir?"  
"I am Spock."

"What planet are you from...?" The girls wind chime voice faded as the door slid shut with a hushed _woooosh. _

**And that's chapter one! Please, all of you, enjoy and review, and I will definitely be writing more in the near future! Ever wondered what Vulcans have nightmares about? You'll find out in chapter two!**


	2. The LeMatya

Spock didn't have nightmares. He didn't see the point in them. Surely, if one experienced fear and stress in waking life, to reflect that fear and stress in a period meant to conserve energy was illogical? But of course, he knew as well as the next man that humans weren't very logical. Energy wasted on emotions... and entirely human affair.

And that is the reason that kept the science officer awake for a large portion of the night. He tried meditation, relaxation exercises, and various other techniques, but sleep continued to elude him. The thought of experiencing the nightmares his Captain and Mrs. Partridge described troubled him not deeply, but enough to keep him awake.

Eventually though, after growing so exhausted in the early hours of the morning, sleep wasn't optional. The Vulcan's black eyes simply shut, and the next thing he knew...

_He found himself on Vulcan, in the middle of the harsh and unforgiving wasteland. He could feel his feet blistering with the heat and felt the midday suns on his bare back. His skin seemed the blister and peel with the heat._

_It didn't take him long to realise what was happening. He was experiencing the Vulcan test of adulthood, which takes place in the desert.__To survive for ten days without food, water or weapon on Vulcan's Forge demands skills and ability from a young Vulcan male, and is unlike anything Spock hoped he would ever have to face again. To fail once is not a disgrace for others, but for the one._

_It was Kahs'wan._

_Spock remembered, felt as though he were experiencing, the fear, pain and hopelessness he'd felt all those years ago. He was sweating like a pib, and desperately tried to find some shade, but the desert stretched on further than ever his sharp Vulcan eyes could see. No shelter, no water in his pouch, and the relentless sun beat down on his bare back. It was worse than he remembered._

_Sweating, panting and exhausted, he tried in vain to find somewhere to hide, at least until night fall. But the sun only grew hotter, the air becoming un-breathable with this heat, and it felt as if he were on fire. He could almost feel the blister on his feet and back form as he stumbled along. Eventually he fell to his knees, and the fear of death, primal fear, surged through him and he started screaming in agony._

_He was starting to bleed. The agony was awful. He felt the green liquid trickle from his nose, flow down his back. His eyes blurred and his hands twitched as he collapsed under the two ruthless suns._

"_Spock?"_

_He opened his eyes a fraction._

_Jim?_

_But no, it certainly was not the Captain. A huge, positively gargantuan, le-matya stood not twenty feet from him. How on Vulcan did it get there? It wasn't there a moment ago! This was impossible!_

_It lowered its cat like head, poisoned claws clicking as it advanced towards the helpless Vulcan, "Spock?" it snarled in Jim's voice, "Spock! Wake up!"_

The Vulcan gasped, sat up like a shot and found that he was screaming. He stopped himself, eyes wide and terrified, and then forced them and his mouth to close.

"Spock?" Jim's hand was on his shoulder. What had he heard? What was he doing in Spock's room? "What's the matter with you?"

"What are you doing here?" he whispered back.

"I was walking by the door, I heard you screaming... are you ok?"

"I am perfectly fine captain," he said quietly, still keeping his eyes off of him, "I'm fine."

"I had a nightmare too, Mister Spock."

Spock sighed and finally looked at the captain. He stood beside his bed, wearing his usual uniform, and with a glance Spock saw his bedroom door ajar. He nearly groaned. Great, now who knows who could have heard him screaming? He felt humiliated.

Instead of allowing it to show on his now placid face, he clambered out of his bed and made his way to the wardrobe, "Captain, if you wouldn't mind."  
"Oh, of course, good bye Spock," before leaving the room completely he added, "Don't worry Spock. No one heard you, only me. No need to be embarrassed."

"I don't feel embarrassment, Captain,"

"Of course not, Spock," he saw Kirk's hidden, knowing smile before he shut the door behind him.

When he was sure the captain wouldn't hear, Spock sighed loudly and put his face in his hands.

He could tell this wasn't going to be a pleasant experience. A monster that could give nightmares to whoever it wanted, wherever you are? It was most... interesting. And inconvenient.

* * *

"Sylvia, I realise you've travelled this way many times before, but it doesn't look as if this path is leading anywhere..."

Sylvia turned a bright smile to Spock, "You can't always see the end of the path you travel right away Mister Spock."

"True, I suppose."  
"Sylvia," McCoy strode into step beside her, and the slight breeze of the outside air ruffled the crews' hair, "You were right about the nightmares. Every single member of the landing party had one last night. I asked around, they all reflected the most primal of fears."

"Even Mister Spock?"

"I hadn't asked, but I'm sure he did. Did you?"

For what wasn't the first time, the Vulcan cursed his inability to lie, "Yes." He said flatly.

"What did you dream about?" he asked curiously.

He didn't think the doctor was trying to embarrass him; he was just allowing his medical curiosity to yet again pop up. But the fact was his horrid nightmare was the last thing he wanted to talk about, especially since it was such a bright and lovely morning that offered a fresh start. He wanted nothing more than to leave the memory of the dream behind him, and that was what he intended to do.

"Doctor, as much as I admire your curiosity, I have no intention of telling you what Vulcans have nightmares about."

McCoy looked Spock over, then, deciding it was better he not know, allowed a member of the security team to speak.

"Where are we going again Sylvia?" he asked, and Spock felt he'd asked with a little too much... alacrity.

"To the waterfall. It seems to be where the bad dreams are emanating from according to our computers. But we can't find a way to stop them, or even how they work. How can one creature give an entire colony nightmares, and kill innocent citizens?"

"How many have been killed by this monster?" asked Kirk.

"One victim every night for a whole month, including last night. So that's thirty one."

"Is there any pattern?" asked Spock, and the forest, filled with alien plant life, seemed to be growing brighter.

"... None that I'm aware of, no." She said, "Here we are. The waterfall."

The water fall was huge, it must've been over twenty feet high. The flowing water led down a forked stream, one of which led to a circular pool in the middle of the sun lit clearing. Sun light sparkled off the face of the flowing water. Taking a second to admire it's beauty, the team finally got to work.

Spock stared at the face of his tricorder as he spoke to Sylvia, who still adorned her scarlet hood, "Sylvia, has your grandmother allowed you to look at the files of the victims if any were made?"

"Yes, you can ask her about them when you get back." She replied, "She did say something about the victims though, I can't quite remember. I think it was something like a pattern, though it may just be a coincidence."

Spock raised an eyebrow, looked down at Sylvia, "You stated there was no pattern."

"And as I said, it could just be a coincidence." She retorted, "Mister Spock, you're free to go back and talk to my grandmother whenever you want, she'll always be there."

Spock looked back into the murky glen, then finally decided that would be the best thing to do, "Alright. Please tell Captain Kirk that I am going to visit your grandmother. Please give him this."

He handed over the tricorder and Sylvia thanked him. Spock figured that the captain would have more of a use for it that he would when he was away.

"Mister Spock," Sylvia called after him, just as he entered the gloomy forest, "be careful, and stay on the path."

* * *

There was something definitely... off, about this forest. At first Spock couldn't place it, but then it became clear. When he was talking to Sylvia when he first travelled through the forest, her wind chime voice had blotted out the now obvious silence. There was literally no sound whatsoever except for the sound of Vulcan's own quiet footsteps.

He swivelled his head from left to right, his Vulcan ears only picking up the very faint sound of his friend's voices. He now wished he'd brought his tricorder to monitor the eerie silence. He snapped his head to the right, stopped dead, and listened.

He was sure he'd heard something. A crunching of leaves underfoot?

He pursed his lips, eyes scanning the area, but he neither saw nor heard nothing. Perhaps it was just his imagination.

This time when he began to walk again he widened his stride. The forest was creepy and too silent. How far from the village was he now? Their walk to the waterfall had taken thirty minutes. He'd been walking now for fifteen.

He stopped in his tracks again. That was not his imagination.

That was a growl.

But of what?

He turned his head once more, and inches from his nose...

A le-matya!

He yelped in shock, fell back on his haunches, eyes shutting as he hit the ground, and once he opened them again the Vulcan predator was gone. He breathed shakily. What on Earth... had he been hallucinating? Every logical explanation ran in circles in his brain, but one in particular was the loudest.

The creature, whatever had been terrorizing the colony, could not only broadcast nightmares in a persons sleep, but also in waking life. It was the only logical explanation. Le-matya weren't indigenous to this planet.

Spock stood from the ground, though he still felt shaky, and leaned against a tree to stop his legs from folding underneath him as he whipped out his communicator. He flipped it open, turned the knob.

"Captain Kirk," he said.

"Kirk here, what's the matter Spock?"

"One matter, Captain. Either I just saw a le-matya mere inches from my face, or I must report myself unfit for duty."

"Explain."

"I believe that our monster can not only broadcast bad dreams, but hallucinations as well."

"Are you alright?"

"Quite alright, captain. I shall continue to make my way to the colony alone, to retrieve the records of the victims of the animal."

There was a slight pause from the other end of the line, "Alright Mister Spock. But stay on the path."

Having eventually arrived at the colony, and receiving no more unexpected visits from any more le-matya, he was granted by Mrs. Partridge access to the files. He searched through each and every of the thirty one victims, and eventually did notice a pattern. The killings went like this, it started male, and the next night female, male, female, male female and so on.

And every night the killings happened in a descending order of hours, last night, the killing happened at seven o clock. Which meant, today the killing would happen at six o'clock in the afternoon, and the victim would be female. Spock wondered if Sylvia and Mrs. Partridge both could've missed this pattern, but that was unlikely. The information was all right there, surely the wise colony leader and her intelligent granddaughter could never have missed such an obvious pattern... could they?

He steepled his fingers and stared hardly at the monitor. Was there something the two weren't telling he and the captain? Why would they keep a secret about something so vital? Unless, this was the "coincidence" Sylvia mentioned. And, if that were the case, one possible victim could be Sylvia or her grandmother.

He reached for his communicator. The odds of the victim being Sylvia were exactly ten thousand three hundred and twenty two to one. The odds were in her favour, but still. She deserved a fair warning. He looked at the clock on the wall. Nine thirty six AM. He had plenty of time. But still he flipped open his communicator.

"Spock here."

"Kirk here, what is it?"

"I believe I have found a pattern in these killings. Do inform young miss Sylvia that she has a one in ten thousand three hundred and twenty two of being the next victim."

Kirk let out a slightly amused huff, "The odds are in her favour Spock."

"Yes, but captain, she lives in the middle of the woods, where the creature is potentially residing. If she is the only female in the forest at six PM today, her odds of being killed are ninety three point two four percent."

* * *

**Review, rate, and tell me what you think! I mean it, constructive criticism is greatly appreciated. **


	3. Invasion of the Mind

James T Kirk could not stop glancing up at the clock on the cafeteria wall. It read 5:31PM. His mind kept wandering towards Sylvia, and her grandmother. What if fourteen year old Sylvia was the next victim? She lived with her mother and father in the woods, and Spock had told her to be sure to stay far away from that forest, from the monster that resided there. But she and her family had still not shown up. They only had half an hour left to get to the village. What if she and her family had run into the monster? Could the monster have changed its mind and decided to kill earlier, before the ideal prey got away? But, did it even matter if she got back or not? The past victims were killed even in their own beds. Would it matter if she got back to the village at all?

"Captain." The deep voice made the captain jump, and he turned to see Spock standing there patiently, eyebrows pricked.

"You nearly gave me a heart attack." Kirk mumbled, standing from the table he had been sitting at alone.

"That I highly doubt Captain. Heart attacks are induced by many variables, but for a heart attack to be induced by the sound of my voice alone is quite illogical."

"Spock, I didn't mean it literally." Kirk said, avoiding the Vulcan's deep brown eyes, "It's just an expression. And what is it you want?"

"According to my readings captain, this creature has the ability to appear as any being it desires."

"Are you suggesting that it was the actual monster that appeared before you in the woods Mister Spock?"

He nodded slightly, "It is a likely explanation Captain. But what puzzles me is... May we talk somewhere in private?"

Kirk had also noticed the glances and stares from others in the cafeteria, most directed at Spock. Kirk nodded, and after a few minutes of walking the two were standing in a deserted hallway. After a quick glance around Spock continued his story, "As I was saying Captain, what puzzles me is that this creature can give anyone nightmares, broadcasting from anywhere it desires, and therefore it understands and manipulates even our most primal fears."

"So?"

"So if this creature can appear as whatever it wishes, why is it only appearing as a large wolf according to witnesses?"

Kirk fell silent for a moment, "Hmm... you're quite right Mister Spock. That is a head scratcher."

"... My questions have caused your head to itch?"

"Spock, it was another expression! You ought to know that kind of thing by now. Anyway, why do you think it only appears as a wolf?"  
"I am not sure Captain, but there are a few explanations. Either everyone occupying this colony is equally terrified of wolves, the creatures true form _is_ in fact a wolf, _or_, the creature was seen by the same person."

"What would that entail?"  
"That only one person has ever seen this creature and lived, and whoever has seen it has a fear of wolves. That would mean that the many witnesses explanation was in fact a lie, and that we should find whoever has seen the wolf for valuable information."

Kirk thought for a long moment again, "...Out of those three explanations, what is the most likely?"

"That each sighting was seen by the same person."

"Then we should definitely track this witness down."

"Indeed, he or she could have valuable information to give to us."

"How do we find out who it is?"

Spock paused, "That I do not know Captain."  
Kirk rolled his eyes, though he knew he couldn't blame his first officer, "Brilliant."

Spock's eyebrows shot up, "I do believe the situation we are in is in fact the exact _opposite_ of brilliant, Captain."

"Spock that was _sarcasm_," Kirk cried in exasperation, "We really should invent a signal so you know when one of us is using sarcasm."

Spock thought momentarily, "I admit, that would be a greatly beneficial aid, captain, especially with Doctor McCoy on this mission with us."  
Kirk suddenly thought back to Sylvia, "Spock, what time is it?"

"Exactly fifty two seconds after five thirty nine PM."

Kirk bit his lip, "Sylvia is still out there... so is her mother and father."

Spock's black eyes bored into Kirk's hazel ones, "Jim, we must concern ourselves with the inhabitants of this colony, not just young Miss Sylvia. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one."

Kirk nodded once after a pause. Once again, there was no denying his first officer's logic, and, once again, that was intensely frustrating.

* * *

Sylvia wasn't afraid of monsters. They weren't real. There is no such thing as _monsters_, only creatures varying from the beautiful to the hideous, the pleasant to the beastly, but monsters, creatures of hate and rage and torment, were not real. There is a scientific explanation to everything, and this "monster" could definitely be explained. All she needed was the opportunity to be provided with an answer.

And that was exactly why she was disobeying Captain Kirk's order to go the village. She was going to stay right there, outside of the forest, all night long if she had to, and wait for the creature. She was convinced that she could kill it. It was just a large wolf. That's what everyone's been saying, a large grey wolf. How hard could it be to kill it?

Even now, she stood stationary, poised with a bow with an arrow drawn. She was ready for anything. And then she heard a rustling noise.

She judged it was about twenty feet ahead. She raised her bow.

But what emerged from the dense, foreboding forest was no wolf. Sylvia batted her eyelids in horror, and fired an arrow at the thing. It howled, and, seeing as it worked to harm the creature, fired again, aiming for one of its many eyes. It raised its head and squealed, and the ear shattering noise caused Sylvia's nerve to snap.

* * *

It took Kirk a second to realise that the first officer of the Enterprise was no longer following him. He turned, saw Spock standing there, frozen in mid step and his head cocked to the side.

"Spock? Are y—"

"_Sh_."

Kirk's mouth closed, and Spock paused for a little while before saying, "Captain... I believe I have just heard young Sylvia scream."

* * *

Sylvia was now wrestling with the beast, fighting with all her might to keep those snapping jaws off of her neck. She tried to dig her nails into its skin, but they practically rolled off of its tough and leathery hide. She screamed and fought, she and the creature, no, the _monster, _rolling over and over in the grass.

Suddenly, with a flash of blue and gold, the weight was lifted off of her and Sylvia saw the Vulcan above her. She gasped as he punched it, punched it so hard it was a wonder its head didn't snap off. There was another hand, grasping her under the arm, and Sylvia rolled her head up and squinted against the sunlight to see Kirk yanking her to her feet.

There was suddenly a loud, mechanical _whiiriririiriririririirr, _and she heard the creature howling again. She glanced Spock chasing the creature into the forest before the sky rolled across her vision as her consciousness began to slip.

"_SPOCK_!" Kirk roared, and his grip on Sylvia's arm grew tighter, like a vice, "_SPOCK! GET BACK HERE! SPOCK!_"

* * *

"Jim, I'm sure Spock's fine." That was about the thirtieth attempt from Bones. But Kirk was still not happy.

"Bones, my first officer has been missing for two whole hours. He could be injured or dead and the crew can't locate him! Where the hell is he Bones?"

The doctor sighed, staring out of the bedroom window at nothing in particular. Jim had been continuously contacting the Enterprise for some news of Spock's whereabouts for the past two hours, but the crew still had no idea where the Vulcan was, and no progress was being made.

"Jim, if I could help I would. But this _is_ Spock we're talking about here, he blocked out a Klingon Mind-Ripper, remember? He could handle his le-matya, I'm sure."

"You forget that we actually have no idea what this creature is. It could change into something he can't fight."

"Uh, Jim-"  
"He could be dead Bones! Torn apart in some random part of the forest and we have no way of locating him."

"Jim, I—"

"Look, unless you have a way of finding him please tell me."

"There is one way," said a new, deep voice behind the star ship Captain, "you can turn around."

Kirk swung around and Spock was standing at the door, rugged and dirty and his hair was ruffled and messy. There were grazes all over him, and a few blueish green bruises, but other than that the Vulcan seemed fine; his usual placid expression looked almost out of place on his dirty face.

"Spock!" Kirk resisted the urge to hug the formerly missing first officer, "Where were you? What happened?"  
"Are you hurt?" asked McCoy, and waved the scanner quickly around him and glancing at his tricorder.

Spock stopped his hand, and the doctor looked startled by the touch, blue eyes wide, "Doctor, as much as I admire your curiosity, your efforts are unnecessary. I assure you, I am perfectly unhurt."

"You're bleeding from the nose. Beam up to the sickbay immediately. That's an order."

"Spock, where the hell were you?" Kirk demanded angrily, "I ought to knock you on your ass."

Spock smirked slightly, "Captain if I could have gotten back sooner, believe me I would've. Unless you think punching me would change the past, feel free."

Kirk paused, looking Spock up and down with pursed lips, until finally saying, "Report to sickbay."

"Yes sir," and then he opened his communicator, "Spock to Enterprise, one to beam up."

"_Mister Spock_!" cried Scotty's voice, slightly muffled over the communicator, "_By God, yer back!_ _Yer alrigh'? Yer not hurt_?"

"I have been ordered to report to sickbay."  
"_Alrigh'. Beamin' up_."

It was as soon as the first officer had disappeared in a flurry of atoms did the doctor turn to his captain, "Jim, that didn't sound like our Spock."  
"I know..." Kirk replied glumly, and he felt anxiety surfacing in his gut, "He sounded different. Also, he would've just told you to stop scanning him, he wouldn't have physically stopped you."  
"And he would've said "assault" instead "punch". And he would've acknowledged he was hurt right away. Not to mention, he smiled. You don't think... the creature messed with his mind, do you?"  
"That is exactly what I think Bones."

Kirk sat heavily on his bed, face in his hands, "If that thing has touched his mind it can only mean something bad. We are not about to lose our first officer... because I decided to answer a distress call."  
The room was silent for a few moments, and all Kirk could hear was his own racing heart pumping blood into his ears and turning his stomach, and then McCoy put a hand on his shoulder, "I'm sorry Jim. I'll do my best to help him, you can consider that a promise."


	4. The Act of Murder

"I assure you doctor, I am quite alright," that was about the tenth time that stubborn first officer had tried to convince McCoy of his state of being, and McCoy wasn't buying it, "I am fit for duty."

"Spock, you stubborn hob-goblin, I have told you a million times—"

"Nine instances, doctor,"

"—That your readings are off the scale, even for a Vulcan. Especially your brain chemistry. There is something there inside of your head and it's tampering with your brain's electrical impulses. That monster, whatever the hell it is, is messing with your mind."

Spock perched himself onto his elbows, looking up at the doctor from the slightly tilted examination table. The landing party had been back on the _Enterprise_ for almost a day, but the solar day was coming to its end, and the recently returned party feared to sleep. That was partially the reason why McCoy had volunteered to stay with Spock in the sickbay, because he didn't want that nightmare again.

Pushing the matter from his mind, the tired doctor finally said, "Nothing I can do will help you, Spock. The only solution I can think of..."

"Bones," the sound of his captain's voice made McCoy jump, and Kirk approached the table that his first officer lay on, "how is he?"  
"It's not our Spock."

"What do you mean?" Kirk asked seriously, and those hazel eyes bore into McCoy's bright blue ones like a Horta two miles underground.

The battered, bruised and cut Vulcan watched the situation with great interest. McCoy knew about Vulcan hearing, and new that moving into a different room wouldn't stop him from hearing his synopsis.

"There's something in his head with him. I can't do anything to stop the connection, look at the readings. His brain chemistry is fluxuating like nuts."

Kirk fixed him with a pleading, almost desperate look. He'd been almost hysterical when his first officer was missing, and had by now pulled himself together, but his emotions were so strong underneath the surface that McCoy could almost feel them rolling off Kirk in strong tidal waves.

"For the love of god, Leonard," McCoy scarcely heard his first name spoken aboard the Enterprise, but when he did, he knew whoever he was talking too was deadly serious, "please tell me you have a solution."

"I have something that might work," McCoy said, looking Spock over again, "his problem definitely has something to do with his Vulcan telepathy. If we can get another Vulcan to meld with him, help him to push the monster out and block it out..."

"That might work." Kirk agreed, a sharp spark of hope flaring in his eyes.

"It would work," Spock said, "If there was a telepathic connection to break."

McCoy glared at him, fury bubbling in his chest, "Shut up!"

"But we will have to go all the way to Vulcan. That would take us five days from here."

McCoy slowly looked at his closest friend, "What option do we have?"

Kirk nodded, "But who?"

"You know who," McCoy replied, "Family members have the strongest telepathic bonds. The only option is,"

"Sarek," they both said together, rather grimly.

Spock jumped into a sitting position, "No-!" he caught himself quickly, his horrified look quickly replaced by his usual placid expression, "I mean, I would prefer not to meld with my father."

"Shut up," they both barked.

Spock fixed his captain with a stare. Kirk returned it. Spock looked away, "Fine."

"Good," Kirk said, and then looked at McCoy, "Bones, I think you should put security restraints on him. Who knows what the monster will make him do. And then I want you to go to your quarters and get some sleep."

It was after Kirk left did McCoy order Spock to lie down properly so the restraints could be fixed. He hadn't expected resistance. It was Spock after all, even with the monster's influence. But he had almost forgotten, thanks to the lack of sleep, about its influence. And that had turned out to be a grave error.

Whilst McCoy was securing the straps around the Vulcans' arm did Spock meet his eyes, "McCoy," he said in a quiet, quiet voice, "You seem very weary."  
"Don't you worry about me, Spock," McCoy grunted, but found his hands slowing down, resting on Spock's strong arm, "I'm... perfectly..."  
What was so intriguing about Spock's coal-black eyes all of a sudden? Something about the darkness, something about the almost emptiness in the blackness... it seemed to offer... peace... an ending to the struggles of daily life...

"You should go to sleep McCoy." Spock said in a hushed and slow voice.

Those eyes... like two black holes swirling in a sea of pure white milk...

"I..." McCoy murmured.

"Go to sleep," Spock whispered, and he moved closer to McCoy's face, so close it was like he were being consumed by... those empty... tranquil eyes, "Go to sleep doctor."

He could feel the warmth of Spock's breath on his face, and all there was in the universe were those hypnotic eyes.

Hypnotic...

McCoy was sucked into the black holes that were Spock's eyes, and he fell backwards, backwards into blackness, into peace... into a place where there was nothing, not even his own physical body, just a space that was neither cold nor warm, and was neither damp nor dry. It was the peace the Vulcan had offered.

* * *

"...ones...Bo... Bones!" the voice, his captain's faraway voice, became more clear and close with every syllable, "Bones, wake up. What's wrong with you? Where's Spock? Bones! Bones!"

Blue eyes opened. Close, hazel eyes widened, "...Jim..."

"You're awake, thank god."

Kirk was holding McCoy against his chest, and judging from the sensations running through his body, McCoy was on the floor of the sickbay. He groaned weakly, turning his head to Spock's bed, "Where is he?"

"I don't know. What happened?"

McCoy, with the aid of Kirk, got to his feet and leaned on the now vacant table for support, "I was securing Spock with the restraints, and next thing I know I'm waking up here."

"Did he say anything?"

"He... might have. I don't know." McCoy looked in despair at the broken restraints, "How the hell did he do that?"

"Never mind that, are you sure you're ok?"

"My head's buzzing but I'll be fine. We need to find the goblin."

"_AAAAAAAH_!" a woman screamed from somewhere down the hall.

Nurse Chapel!

Bolting like a rabbit from a cage, McCoy was out of the Sickbay in a matter of seconds, running towards the nurse's scream. He turned a corner and saw her standing there, staring in horror at a man wearing a red shirt on the floor of the hall. He was on his stomach, but his neck was twisted unnaturally, and around him the walls were dented and circuits jutted from said dents. An intercom panel lay broken on the floor, and a few wires sparked.

McCoy pushed Nurse Chapel aside, knelt by the man and turned him onto his back, and saw his face.

"My god..."

"McCoy!" Kirk's voice behind him, "What's-? Oh..."

"Kyle," McCoy said softly, and checked for a pulse on the man's twisted neck, though he knew it was hopeless.

"Bones...?"  
"He's dead, Jim." McCoy murmured, and stood up, "It was Spock. It had to be."

"He would never kill a man," Kirk said, though now he sounded uncertain, "Especially not Kyle."

"We're not dealing with Spock, Jim, we're dealing with a monster."

"He'll keep killing, "Chapel said darkly, "like the monster in the colony."  
McCoy looked desperately at his friend, "Jim, we've gotta find him before he kills anyone else. We need to get to Vulcan as quickly as possible."

"You bet your ass we will, Bones. Please... put Kyle in the sickbay. I'll issue a red alert in the morning."  
Kirk then turned on his heel and walked away.

"Poor Kyle," Chapel murmured when the engineer was finally covered with a sheet in a private part of the sickbay.

"Poor Scotty," McCoy added, "he'll be devastated."

"Can you imagine what could've happened to Kyle?" Chapel whispered, "Walls were dented and wires were snapped. He must've been in agony before he died. Six broken ribs and a broken femur."

"He must've put up a good fight," McCoy said, "to have survived that long in a clash with a Vulcan."

"We can still anticipate the killings though, right? It'll happen the same way it did in the colony."  
"But we still don't know who will be targeted. We know when, and how, but not who and that's what matters."

There was a long silence. McCoy finally said, "I'll call Scotty."

He thumbed the intercom button on the wall, "Mister Scott."

"_Scott 'ere. What is it, doctor_?"  
"You need to see something. Come to sickbay immediately."  
"_What's wrong_?"  
"It's Kyle."  
"_Kyle_?" The word was spoken urgently, "_What's 'appened_?"

"Just come to sickbay."  
"..._On my way_."

"Nurse, you should go to your quarters. It can't be long before everyone's awake again."

She seemed in no mood to refuse, she looked like she just wanted to go to sleep, "Yes sir. You should too."

"I will, soon. I'll see you in the morning."

Scotty was distraught. Kirk had offered to let the chief engineer off his work for the day, but the Scotsman refused to stop working when his companions, whom all were friends with Kyle, would still be doing their jobs. Kirk had set a course for Vulcan, warp factor seven, and sent a message to Star Fleet command, informing them that they were leaving the colony in order to help their first officer. Kirk just hoped that they could find Spock, and convince his father to meld with him. It was their only hope.

Kirk glanced at the panel, where Spock would've been, and then sighed and looked away. It just didn't seem right without his first officer on the bridge with him. Chekov was at the panel, and he was doing the job well, but it just didn't feel _right_ to Kirk.

Was his good friend really a murderer? Surely Star Fleet would understand. It wasn't Spock, it was the monster using his body as a host to kill others. He was innocent. But still, he'd issued a red alert and ordered everyone to set their phasers to stun.

_Poor Kyle_, Kirk thought with sincere sadness, _he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time._

"Sulu," Kirk's hand covered his mouth, as he was slouched to the side on his chair, using his elbow as a rest.

"Yes, sir?"

"How long until we reach Vulcan?"

"Twenty two hours sir. Still at warp factor seven."

"Thank you," he murmured, then paused for a moment and stopped Sulu mid turn, "Also, Sulu."

"Yes sir?"  
"If you were running from the crew... where would you hide?"

Sulu glanced uneasily at Chekov who had taken his regular place at the panel with his friend. He gave a fleeting look to the other's on the bridge who had turned to watch the situation. He inhaled deeply, let it out, and said, "Well, if I were hiding, I'd hide somewhere where I was sure no one could find me. Somewhere in the engine room, definitely."

Kirk had been thinking the same thing, "Thank you Mister Sulu,"

He turned back to his panel, "No problem Sir."

Would it really be wise to go there in the hopes of finding his first officer? He was at a serious risk of being killed, he couldn't deny that. Whatever Spock was now, it wasn't _him, _he could be insane with the need to kill, or maybe he would act normal and kill when no one expected it. But that was a risk he would have to take.

"Sulu," he said as he stood from the chair and made his way to the elevator, "you have to conn."

"Yes sir."

* * *

**Review, favourite and I'll be writing much more in the future. Tell me your opinions, what I can do better etcetera. Sorry Kyle fans, SOMEONE had to die and I wanted it to be someone who you actually hear about in the show. Let's just say you're lucky it wasn't Scotty. 3 you Scotty ;3**


	5. Small Elephants and Boiling Vulcans

James T Kirk wasn't sure how Sarek would react to such sudden and distressing news. He knew of the relationship between Spock and Sarek, and wasn't at all positive that the plan would work at all. To meld with his son who had abandoned the Vulcan Science Academy to pursue a career in Star Fleet. But Sarek had agreed, and come aboard with his wife Amanda and were currently being spoken to by Scotty, who was explaining the whole situation. Kirk had been firm making sure the engineer wouldn't tell Sarek his son had already murdered a man, but if they had to meld, he would find out anyway.

But he didn't plan to be in the same room when the Ambassador had found out he'd been directly lied to.

McCoy presently handed a hypo to Kirk, and stuck his own in his back pocket. A security team were waiting outside of the sickbay for them both. McCoy was explaining how to use the hypos.

"Alright Jim, when you see Spock, and if you can get close to him, press this down and stick the needle into his arm. But don't go out of your way to get near him. If he's strong and ready take out your phaser and stun him, alright? Don't get near him if you'll be in danger."

Jim smiled weakly, "You worry about me too much, Bones."

McCoy sauntered towards the doors on the other side of the room, "The hypo is already loaded with a sedative, so all you have to do is what I told you. There's enough sedative in these hypos to bring down a—"

Kirk followed, "Small elephant?"

He looked at him, stopped walking, "What?"

"You know. Remember those old action movies they made centuries ago? When they're going after something dangerous, they always say there's enough sedative to take down a small elephant."

"What do people have against small elephants?"

"Nothing, but—"

"There's enough sedative in these hypos to bring down a rampaging Vulcan because that's exactly what we're after. Why would we want to take down an elephant when we're not after elephants?"

"It's just something people say in movies, Bones."  
"In elephant hunting movies?"

"Well, no—"

"If we were after an elephant I'd understand your reference."

Jim grinned, wholeheartedly this time, "You sound exactly like Spock, Bones."

McCoy's eyes rolled up to heaven and back down again, and then he made a not imperfect impression of Spock's voice, "No need to be insulting, Captain."

"Let's get a move on."

* * *

Spock heard the Captain before he saw him. He recognised the footsteps, the unique pattern of which his captain sauntered. No one walks the same way, everyone has a different gate, speed... these kind of thoughts, simple thoughts, the mulling over of facts known to the suffering Vulcan for countless yeas were one of the few things he could mentally grapple onto to keep his own consciousness from slipping.

He hid beneath one of the strong steel pipes running this way and that throughout the boiler room. He didn't know how he had gotten there. His lucidity slipped from his grasp in the hands of the monster every so often, and when it did, he found himself in a new place or, most recently, with his hands squeezing a crewman's neck like a boa suffocating a deer. The more they struggled, the tighter Spock's hands would grip, as tight as an Aldebaren shell mouth, and soon they lay dead at his feet and he was running... That's when his lucidity slipped again. Seeping right through his mental shields.

But in the times he was lucid, yet in no control of his own body, he could feel the creatures presence there, at the back of his head, and he knew what it was.

"Spock?" Jim. Go away. Get out. "Spock, are you here?"

The monster was stirring at the back of his skull again, and he hugged his knees even tighter to his chest, and from where he was curled on the floor, he had no view of the oblivious captain. He just had to stay quiet, stay hidden, and try to block the monster out.

Get out, Jim. Your life is in danger. Get out!

"Spock!" Kirk rounded a corner, and wiped his sweaty forehead with his hand, the heat must've been agitating him, but Spock, being from Vulcan, hadn't noticed, "I know you're here. I understand that this... thing... is using your body as a host so it can kill... but I know it isn't you doing these terrible things. I understand, Spock. Let me help."

Pain zapped through the Vulcans head and he arched his back, unable to stay still any longer, and he roared in agony.

"Spock! There you are!" Kirk tried to make his way towards his first officer, but the scolding pipes were in his way, "You have to come here Spock. We have a plan, we can help!"

"Jim!" he was practically screaming, "Get out! I can't block it out much longer. It will kill you if you don't leave!"

Kirk refused to go, and he knelt down, out of arms reach of his first officer, and held his gaze, "Spock, how did this happen? Tell me how it all happened. How did it get into your head?"

Spock frowned, and then had to bite back a crash of pain, like the crash of water hitting rocks. "I... I don't..."  
"You do. Remember."  
"I chased the monster and then I... I was back aboard the Enterprise... killing Mister Kyle with my bare hands."

"Oh, Spock, I'm sorry."

"Why did you come here?" he paused to groan, and bite the inside of his cheek.

"To help you, of course."

"_Gahhgn_!" it was another incoherent roar, and Kirk stood quickly, and took something from his pocket.

"You'll be fine." Kirk assured him, and whatever was in his hand was suddenly poking out of Spock's arm, and the rugged Vulcan's breath left him and he knew nothing for a while, only Kirk's voice echoing distantly in his head.

The monster finally stopped growling.

* * *

**Short, I know, but I wanted a little bit of comic relief. Now we get to see Sarek and Amanda. Fingers crossed, and please review. I reference the small elephant thing, but I can't remember where. Oh well, I hope you found it amusing.**


	6. Parasite

**Captain's log, star date 2435.63. The Enterprise has abandoned the colony in the Omicron Delta region to aid the science officer Mister Spock. The creature that resided in the colony has now made a telepathic connection with my first officer, and we believe it is trying to take over his body to use as a host. We have arrived at Vulcan and are currently in standard orbit, and have convinced Mister Spock's father, Ambassador Sarek, to meld with him. The plan is to block out and push away the invading mind. If this doesn't work, I fear to think of the suffering my friend will have to endure. I can only hope Doctor McCoy's plan will work, that is the best any of us can do. Kirk out.**

Sarek of Vulcan was not going to meld with his son because he was a worried father and wanted to help. He was going to meld because it was the logical choice. He had deeply opposed of his son's decision to join Star Fleet, and ever since the two have been silent, and their relationship awkward. But Sarek had realised that if he were to allow his son's mind to be consumed by the creature, whatever it was, then the Federation would lose one of the best first officers in the fleet.

Amanda, Sarek's wife and Spock's mother, had said, "You really don't care if our son dies or not? You're just doing this because it's _logical_?"

"Amanda," Sarek had said, "if I allow Spock to die then the Federation could be at a disadvanta—"

"Don't do that." She'd growled, "Don't avoid my question. Do you care or not? Well?"

Sarek had hesitated to answer. Amanda had stormed out of the room, and Sarek had begun to make his way to Sickbay, where his son was currently residing. He did not feel anything. He just knew that this was something he should do. He didn't care who was behind the sickbay doors, only that this person needed a Vulcan's help.

At least, that's what he thought at first. But when he entered the sickbay, saw his son laying on the examination table, straining under shaking under the security restraints, pain painted on his face and suffering furrowing his eyebrows, he felt a tidal wave of fraternal protection flooded his body so quickly that it shocked him. He managed to suppress the shock before anyone noticed, but the fraternal emotions couldn't be restrained to a great degree.

"Spock..." he hadn't even realised he'd spoken.

The human doctor Leonard McCoy looked up from his patient, he seemed very tired, "Ambassador Sarek. Thank god."

"There was no deity involved," Sarek replied primly, and received a raised and irritated eyebrow, "How is he?"

He made his way beside his straining son as the doctor explained, having to raise his voice over the Vulcan's groans of pain, "Kirk has explained the whole situation to you?"  
"Yes Doctor."

"Good, but now he's in an abnormal amount of pain. I've given him sedatives, enough to take down even a small elephant, but nothing's been effective. You need to establish one of those Vulcan pain boundaries, to help him stop the pain."

"I assume you mean to meld with him, and make him lucid enough to establish a pain restraint."  
"Yes. Exactly."

"I will require privacy."

McCoy nodded quickly, "Yes, of course." He made his way to the door, and looked back at Sarek, "This may not mean anything to a Vulcan, but I want to wish you good luck."

Sarek said nothing, and the doctor nodded awkwardly and left the room, leaving him and his son at peace. Relative peace anyhow.

Sarek stared at his son's face for a long while, and, after preparing the necessary mental blocks to prevent the creature from entering his own mind, reached out and touched his son's head.

He didn't breathe for a moment. He could feel the monster trying to get in, trying to grapple onto the Vulcan's mind, but with the shields Sarek had prepared, the monster's mental hands seemed to slide right off.

He had to dig deep to find his son. In an instinctual attempt to protect his own mind, the Vulcan had placed his psyche under layers upon layers of mental telepathic shields. It kept his mind safe, but hidden away, and he was unable to control his own body.

_Spock_.

There was some sort of disturbance beneath the shields.

_Father_?

_I'm here._

_What are you doing here? _The voice of Spock seemed distant, as if he were slipping again, _I didn't know you were..._

_Were you not informed?_

_I do not know... _It was completely unlike Spock to answer a question, especially one that only need a yes or no answer with _I don't know, _and was nearly shocking, _I have only been lucid for a few minutes of the whole ordeal..._

And then Sarek saw what had happened to Mister Kyle, the young engineer of _Enterprise_. He saw, from Spock's point of view, the life leave the engineer's eyes as his hands, Spock's hands, forced the airways to close.

_Spock, what on Vulc-_

_Not me! _Spock insisted, his voice filled with undisguised emotion, emotion that touched Sarek's mind, _It was not me, Father. It was the creature that has been using my body as a host._

_That is why I have come, my son. To help you push out the intrusion. Break the telepathic connection. You must follow my lead, and do everything exactly as I say it._

_Yes father. But, father, before we begin..._

With the telepathic connection made, and with the monster scratching at the back of both of their heads, Sarek could sense his son's unspoken words. And Sarek's response was neither verbal or really thought, but it was a genuine response none the less.

_I was wrong. _

_Father. _

_This silence between us has gone on long enough Spock. It is time it ended. It was not my place to judge your decision to join Star Fleet, in which you have served well. Greatly, even. _

_I can tell that you genuinely mean that. Thank you father, very much._

_Let us begin._

"Well, doctor?" asked Kirk, as he had just finished his last shift and had met up with the doctor in his office. He was sitting with a small glass of brandy, head buried in a hand.

He took a deep, long breath, and exhaled, "I dunno, Jim," McCoy grunted, and another gulp of brandy was taken, "It's been nearly three hours and I haven't been permitted to enter. Do you know how frustrating it is to not see your own patient? I could kill someone!"

"Then perhaps you should stop drinking brandy," Kirk joked, but received a glare.

McCoy folded his arms and sat back in his chair, "It's Spock's fault you know. If he hadn't chased that monster we wouldn't be orbiting Vulcan and Mister Kyle wouldn't be dead."  
Kirk was startled at the sudden accusation, and had to pause before he had a reasonable response, "Bones, for all we know the creature could've influenced him to follow it, where it could get a mental hold. You have no way of knowing if it was his fault."  
"I know." He mumbled, and put his face in his hand again, "There's not enough brandy in the world for this one Jim."  
The captain smirked slightly, and turned at the sound of the door whooshing open. Black hair, pointed ears, sharp features.

"Spock!"

Spock nearly smiled, and Sarek appeared beside him, "Yes Captain, it is I."  
McCoy was quick to run the medscanner over him, and Spock said, "That is unnecessary Doctor. The creature is gone, thanks to Father."  
"Are you alright?" Kirk asked, looking him over for any kind of flaw, "You're not hurt or...?"  
"Not at all."  
Kirk looked at Sarek, "Thank you Ambassador."

"One does not thank logic, Captain."  
Kirk couldn't stop his smiling, and said, "Yes, of course, of course."  
"You do realise Captain," Spock said, sounding like his old self, "That the creature still haunts the colony, and that we should plot a course to the Omicron Delta region immediately."

Kirk looked at McCoy, who had been unusually silent, "Did you want to run any more tests, Bones?"  
"If Sarek says he's alright," McCoy replied, "he's alright. But Spock, you still have wounds that should be healed immediately, and your hair's a mess. Go to the sick bay."

Spock nodded, glanced up at his father, and turned and walked out without another word. McCoy followed, and Sarek and Kirk were alone.

"Captain Kirk," Sarek said slowly, "I trust that my son is indeed in safe hands with you, when you arrive at this colony again?"  
"Yes, sir. I certainly won't be allowing him off the Enterprise any time soon."  
"Good. I have prepared him with the necessary mental shields to protect himself against this creature should it again try to reach him. But what I really want to say, is that I apologize for my son's actions. I am sorry that one of your crewmen is dead because of the creature's influence."

Kirk looked down while he searched for a response, "...Thank you, Ambassador. But, out of curiosity... where did you send this creature?"

"I merely pushed it out. It's influence is no more. I—"

The room was still, and Sarek cocked his head to the side, as if he had just heard something very disturbing indeed.

"Sarek...?"  
"Shh!"

More silence, and then a distant woman's scream, "The monster, it's still here."  
"What?" Kirk cried, "You said you pushed it out!"  
"I did. But the monster was not simply taking a mental hold. I just realised, it's grip was not just telepathic, it was physical."  
"What do you mean?"  
"It is not at the colony anymore, it's here. Aboard the _Enterprise_. It was inside of Spock, and now it's outside."

Kirk rushed to the intercom and thumbed the panel, "Kirk to bridge."

"Bridge, Uhura here."  
"Uhura, issue a red alert. The thing that was using Spock is now running loose aboard the _Enterprise_, set phasers to kill."  
"...Aye, Sir."

"Sarek, are you telling me this thing is a parasite? A proper, physical parasite?"  
"It would appear so, Kirk."

"Then I want you to stay in your quarters, and don't let Amanda out of your sight. We're in great danger, and I fear that we may not pull through this one."

**I will unfortunately be away for 2 whole months, and I won't be able to update this story. But I'll be back! Thanks to all of those who reviewed and kept track of this story! I will be updating, in a few months. Until then, live long and prosper.**


	7. ANNOUNCEMENT

**This isn't a proper chapter, this is just a heads up to all of my readers that my updates are currently being worked on and will soon be added! Review, so I know you're all going to read it! You'll finally find out about the monster! And what happens to the next victim. Who is that victim? Well, I guess you'll just have to read it won't ya?! See you there!**


	8. The Red Hooded Girl

**Before we continue The Girl and the Wolf, I would just like to thank the following people:**

YoungDreamerOfBigThings

Lolibeagle 3

Trekkie1701

Bubblestar888

AllTheSnakes

I heart Star Trek

Originalseriestrekkie

miyucamui

**All of these people have either reviewed my story, or review it continuously, and seem to have really enjoyed it! Don't worry, we have loads more plot twists to come yet before we're done with TGATW!**

**Thank you all for reviewing, and hey, if YOU review, you could get your name mentioned too!**

**Let's begin!**

* * *

Sylvia Partridge raised her golden head, her long earrings jingling around her neck. Those beautiful eyes widened a fraction as the telepathic link she had been keeping was broken. No, not broken, she'd been pushed out. Forced out of the other's mind. Her plump red lips formed a ridged line. _Damn_ that pointy eared bastard.

Her plan had not failed yet. She still had time. She could still do this. All she needed was an opportunity. The next person to walk by was her target. Her last link had been merely telepathic, that's what Sylvia thought was all that had to be achieved to complete her goal, but apparently that wouldn't be sufficient with this crew. She heard footsteps now. Faraway, down the hall of the _Enterprise_.

She managed a smile now. He triumph would still be achieved. Then, when those inhumanly gorgeous eyes closed, her slim body began to shrink.

* * *

"All decks, red alert," Uhura said urgently into the intercom, "Creature from Colony One in the Omicron Delta region has made its way onto the Enterprise and will attack and kill anyone. All decks, red alert, creature from colony one..."

* * *

McCoy was walking past the Engine room with a phaser tight in his grip was he felt an insect of some sort on the back of his neck. He swatted behind his head with an impatient hand in an effort to get the annoying fly away. He didn't have time to worry about insects. He had to find some way to get this creature off of the _Enterprise_.

He felt a slight sting on the skin of the back of his neck now, as if this bug had nipped him. He growled in frustration, slapped the back of his neck, and then froze altogether.

There were no bugs on the _Enterprise_. No flies or spiders could survive the transporter. Oh, oh god.

That was when he felt the creature wriggle into his flesh, and he started yelling for help. But no one was around. His hands clasped over his ears and his head wrenched back into the air as his brain pulsed against his skull. At least that's what it felt like. And then it was as if his legs were simply no longer there beneath him, and he fell to the floor, phaser clattering against the hard ground.

* * *

In sickbay, Spock, Kirk, and Sarek were discussing how to move forward in this crisis situation. Spock's hair was now as tidy as it had always been, and his green bruises and cuts were nearly fully healed. Before Bones had left to find Scotty, the old doctor had told Sarek and Jim to not let Spock out of their sight's until his cuts had disappeared. He had strains in his wrist and ankle, and had some difficulty walking, but he had, of course, insisted on leaving to look for the monster himself.

"Damn it, Spock," McCoy had growled, "I don't care if you want to find this monster, you are staying right here. No, don't say anything, you're too injured to walk yet."

Spock was nearly glowering at McCoy at this point, "A sprained ankle can hardly effect my vocal cords Doctor. I see no reason why I should not go to find this creature."

"Spock," Kirk had said, "you will stay in sickbay. Consider that an order."

* * *

McCoy groaned when he finally managed to get up from the cold floor. He grunted as he found his knees, and after grabbing his phaser got to his feet.

He rubbed the back of his head, "What the hell happened...?"

He didn't remember the attack, but something else was grappling him now, along with the monster. Heightened emotions was a side effect to taking over, and now McCoy felt intense resentment. That was when he decided to turn on his heel and stalk right back up to the sickbay. It would be about ten minutes before the take over would be complete, and the monster would have full control of the doctor. In ten minutes, McCoy's consciousness would be lost forever, unrecoverable. McCoy's body would be just an empty shell, and the monster, Sylvia, would finally be free to do her bidding.

To kill everyone aboard the _Enterprise_.

* * *

**I am SO SORRY this is so short i'll be putting more up soon. Stay tuned and review! BYE!**


	9. The Vulcan Sands

It all happened very fast after that.

Bones had stormed into the sickbay, his murderous gaze burning holes into the eyes of everyone who swung to look at him. He was sweating like a pig, and clearly in pain, and his short hair was sticking to his scalp. He had roared Spock's name as he approached where the Vulcan sat.

Spock didn't even see the fist of the doctor land him square on the chin, and certainly had no time to figure out what was happening before he slouched backwards into darkness.

Kirk had made a grab for him, but Bones ducked and was already swinging his leg around, knocking Kirk off of his feet when his leg connected to the Captain's shins. Sarek's hand then darted out like a striking cobra, and his fingers connected to McCoy's neck, and the man crumpled at the ever serene Vulcan's feet.

No one had seen the little black sliver of a being slide from the back of the doctor's neck and scuttle away.

Now, Sarek grabbed Kirk beneath the armpits and helped him to his feet, "Are you hurt?"  
"Just my pride," Kirk replied, standing fully upright, "Thank you. Is Spock ok?"

They both looked over, saw Spock's half shut eyes.

"The doctor knocked him unconscious," Sarek observed, "fascinating,"

"Help me here, Sarek," Kirk said as he knelt down beside Bones.

Once he was placed on the examination table, Chapel had walked in.

"Oh, my!" she gasped, eyes wide, "What happened here?"  
"The creature has apparently possessed the doctor," Sarek informed, and with his harp Vulcan ears picked up the sound of his son's sluggish movements.

Chapel hurried over to the Vulcan, "What happened to you?" she asked, eyes ever wider.

Spock's hand went to his jaw, "I am not sure,"

"The doctor punched you," Sarek informed matter-of-factly.

Spock glanced at McCoy, then at the captain, "Fascinating,"

"It looked painful, too," Kirk added.

"_Mister Scott to sickbay,"_ came Scotty's voice, preceded by the familiar, and somehow comforting, intercom whistle, _"Mister Scott to sickbay."_

Nurse Chapel, thumbed the intercom as the three men watched her, "Sickbay, Nurse Chapel here."  
_ "We're in need of medical aid,"_ Kirk now realised how urgent the Scotsman sounded, _"I came in to the transporter room to check on the boys, but when I entered Riley was unconscious and Simon was missin'."_

Dead silence in the sickbay, broken only by the sound of Kirk's hastened footsteps, and he took his place next to the intercom, "This is the captain. Has the transporter been used?"

"_Aye sir, it has."_

Kirk didn't hesitate, "Scotty, get ready to beam down myself, Spock and a security team, on the double."

"_Aye sir, right away."_

Kirk motioned to Spock and the sickbay doors swept open, "Come on, Spock,"

Spock got up stiffly from the examination table, "Yes captain,"

"I will come as well," Sarek offered immediately, "I want to know what has been hurting the crew of the _Enterprise_."

Kirk looked Sarek over, looked at his short greying hair, his hazel eyes, and his long swaying red and grey robes, "If that's what you wish, Sarek,"

"It is, Captain,"

* * *

Sylvia's new forehead was sweating in the raging heat of the Vulcan summer. She had indeed taken Engineer Simon's body to use as a host after leaving McCoy, and now she was running, running as fast as she could, to escape the Enterprise. When she had been nerve pinched by the Vulcan's father she had panicked and fled, deciding that she would wait in the desert below somewhere until the crew of humans were so consumed for looking for the engineer that they would forget about her.

She slowed to a jog, the low gravity and relentless suns decreasing her progress significantly. Simon wasn't an entirely useless host. He was young, strong, and healthy. But his mind was becoming difficult to maintain control of. Perhaps it was the heat. She wasn't sure. Her footsteps were becoming uneven and heavy, but now she could see in the far distance an outcrop of jagged cliffs, which seemed out of place in the desert that stretched out forever.

Her breaths were coming in gasps now. The cliff was getting closer. Was that the sound of a transporter? She glanced over her new shoulder, and saw no one. A few minutes later, the cliff was there, in front of her. That beautiful, shady cliff. So much like the mountain ranges of the cool and rocky planet she was born and raised in. Before her whole species was...

She started to climb the rocks, spreading her hands and feet into every handhold she could find. She glanced over her shoulder, and saw five specks in the distance.

* * *

Sarek of Vulcan faced his wife. She was in her mid fifties, but still so, so beautiful. She smiled, and raised her delicate hand to his face. He relished under the touch, as if he had bonded with her all over again.

"Sarek," she had said softly in the transporter room, "please be careful,"

"My wife," he had replied, "you have never known me to fail you, and I will not fail you now,"

"I mean it, Sarek... I do not wish to realise it was fated that your blood would stain Vulcan's desert sands..."

Their fingers touched, and Sarek rested the bridge of his nose against her forehead, "I promise,"

"I love you, Sarek," she murmured, and he felt her eyes close.

"Amanda," Sarek replied under his breath, "Beloved."

* * *

Spock looked around him, flanked by his father, Jim, and three security guards. He held his tricorder in his long, slender fingers, and quickly found one life form reading deep in the desert.

"This way, captain," he said, and his coal black eyes squinted against the harsh light of the Vulcan suns.

"I don't remember it being this _hot_," Kirk gasped, sweating already.

"That is because when you were here last it was not the middle of Vulcan summer," Spock replied promptly, following the tricorder readings towards a sheer and rocky outcrop in the far distance, "I wonder how far this human was able to travel before collapsing under the Vulcan suns,"

"I don't think it's human," Sarek said, "The creature has most likely taken the human as a host and fled,"

"I agree," Kirk said, wiping his brow, "Let's hurry. I don't want to lose him."

They walked for twenty minutes in silence towards the rocky outcrop, and the humans of the group were sweating and burning. Spock and Sarek were sweating too, but not nearly as much as the humans were, and then they finally reached the cliff.

The whistling of the tricorder continued, and Spock looked up, "Simon is up there. At te top of the cliff,"

Kirk nearly groaned, "Really?"

"Yes. We are going to have to climb."

The security team glanced at the cliff, and Kirk looked at them with pity, "You all can stay in the shade down here. I don't think that we will be needing you now anyway. Feel free to beam back up."

The security team nodded, "Aye sir."

Within seconds they were gone, and all three began to climb.

* * *

**REIVIEW. People are following this but hardly any of you reveiw! Please please review! D': **

**Loli beagle, Y u no message me? D':**


	10. The Unfortunate Event

They had barely climbed ten feet up the almost vertical rock face before Kirk started to sweat. He felt like his hands were blistering on these jagged boiling rocks, and they were the ones on the shady side of the cliff! He was starting to tire. Sarek was beside him, ready to catch him if he fell, and in this heat it that was definitely a possibility.

Spock was the first to reach the top of the rocky precipice, which burned under the palms of his hands, as it had been heated by the Vulcan suns all day. He hauled himself over the edge, onto the flat surface of the top of the outcrop, and then he turned on his knees and helped Kirk and his father up.

"See anything?" asked Kirk as he dusted himself off.

Spock's vision had now dimmed, cutting off for the most part the harmful white light of the suns. He had his inner eyelids to thank for that, "I do not see anyone, nor do I hear-"

"Silence," Sarek said, and, looking as cool as ever, stared at a certain point beyond him, to his left, "I hear breathing. It is emanating from behind that collection of rocks,"

"Phasers on stun," Kirk ordered, and the three of them approached, weapons in hand.

There was a movement behind the rock, the sound of scuffling, and Spock's brain splintered.

* * *

_**No. Not mister Kyle.**_

_Spock was now in the Enterprise, the moments in which his consciousness had been suppressed by the monster bubbling to the surface. In particular, Mister Kyle. The... the man he had murdered._

_He was stalking down the hall, sweating and hurting, and the steps he took were all too real. He could hear footsteps now. Unassuming, unimportant. Just a man doing his job. And Spock was going to end it._

"_Mister Kyle-!" he choked, unable to control his voice for more than a second or two._

_The young ensign turned around, and smiled in a confused manner, "Oh, hello sir,"_

_**This is not logical. I do not want to see this. Release me. Release me!**_

"_R-!"_

"_What sir?"_

"_Ru-!"  
His vocal cords seemed to clamp on the inside, as if the monster had gotten its hand and was gripping them tightly. He was moving towards Kyle now, angry, hungry, a predator, a wolf pouncing on a deer with a broken leg._

"_Mister Spock!" Kyle shouted in surprise, ducking a punch from the Vulcan but was not fast enough to duck a jab in the ribs. They both heard ribs snap._

_Spock was overcome with emotion. It was as if an orange was lodged in his throat. He was going to kill this man, no, this boy, with his own bare hands, and there was nothing he could do to stop it. He could feel the sensation on a leg underfoot, feel the sensation of Kyle's fist in the cheek, but couldn't stop himself. It was as if the monster was mocking him, making him watch this horror. It was not the Vulcan way to kill innocent people. It was considered mental illness. Was he insane? He must've been. It was logical._

"_Help!" Kyle yelled, on the floor now with Spock clamping down on his neck with strong hands, cutting off his air channels completely._

_**This is enough. Enough I say! I command you!**_

_And the monster wouldn't listen. Spock lifted the man until his toes were no longer touching the floor, and rammed him into the intercom panel on the wall which sparked and fell under the impact. _

"_N—N- no!" Kyle croaked, and his eyes began to droop, "S- Spock..."_

"_Kyle," Spock whispered as he felt the muscles in his arm begin to tighten, "I am sorry,"_

_That's when his Vulcan hand tightened, there was a snap, and Kyle was lost to darkness._

* * *

"...! ...k! Spock!"

There was a sharp pain on his cheek and Spock sucked in a sharp breath, eyes opening and then immediately shutting to block out the Vulcan suns.

Kirk sighed in relief, but the voice was far away, above where Spock lay, "Thank god, he's ok. He's awake Sarek, it's alright,"

His father's voice was closer, as if he was sitting beside him, "I know he is awake." Sarek stated simply.

It came to Spock's attention how soft this ground was against the back of his head. Perhaps he was in medical bay. But if that were true, he was sure that he would have heard McCoy's grumpy diagnostic by now. And of course, he had seen the Vulcan suns. He opened one eye, looked upwards.

His father's face was bending over him, and he noticed something in the old Vulcan's brown eyes. Was it concern? He was fairly certain.

He knew where he was now. Lying on top of the rocky cliff, Kirk beside him, with his head on his father's lap.

"Spock," Sarek said, "can you speak?"

"I can speak," Spock replied, and sat up, getting to his feet, "Where is Simon?"

Kirk gestured ahead of him.

Simon was sitting there with his back against a rock, taking in sharp tired breaths, and clutching his rib, "Bastards," he spat, blood flitting from between his teeth, suggesting that there had been a fight just moments ago, "Filthy, dirty bastards,"

"Who are you?" Spock asked, phaser now tight in his shaking grip, "Why have you taken over Simon Campbell's body? For what purpose do you use your hosts to destroy human beings?"

Simon, no, the monster, met Spock's eyes. Spock saw malice in those blue orbs, rage bubbling behind the pupils, "I am K't'lk, last of the proud species of the G'r'I'k's. Three hundred years ago, we were massacred, our whole planet wiped clean of vegetation and life, including us. But I escaped. I survived. And I have been bent on revenge ever since,"

Even to Spock's now less alert brain, pieces of the puzzle all began to fit together, "How did you escape, K't'l'k?"

K't'l'k sneered at him, "I was fighting the Others. I was in my ship with one other G'r'l'k, but we were too slow. We missed our chance because I hesitated. And now our planet is dead,"

Sarek, Kirk, and Spock stood staring at K't'l'k for a few moments. Fascinating. One of the last of her species, bent on killing a race with no connection to the ones that destroyed her world. Illogical, but fascinating. Perhaps she had suffered brain damage from the attack on her vessel.

"How did you get aboard my ship?" Kirk demanded, and a hot Vulcan breeze ruffled their hair.

K't'l'k smiled with Simon's lips, "I, James T Kirk, am Sylvia Partridge," Spock's deep eyes widened, "It was simple to get onto your vessel. Whilst I had your First Officer, Spock, in my command, I had shifted into a small creature, like a snake, and hidden in his boot. It was too easy. When we were aboard I simply shifted into my original form and hid away. When you retrieved Spock from the engine room, I was hiding just ten feet away from you, but you couldn't see me. I am too quick. I am K't'l'k!"

"Her mind is clearly unbalanced," Sarek said from behind Spock, and his son heard him slide his arms into his sleeves.

"Silence, fool!" K't'l'k roared, and raised her hand, curling in her host's fingers.

There was a sharp cry, and Spock and Kirk swung around to see Sarek standing there, muscles tightened in pain.

"Father-!"

"I am K't'l'k!" Simon's voice uttered, and Sarek's hand went to his hip and ripped out a phaser and pointed it right between Spock's eyes, "I am a G'r'l'k, Traveller of Planets, destroyer of War'ki!"

Spock froze where he stood, staring at his father, whose eyes were locked with his son's, "Spock, I am not in control."  
"I know that," Spock said slowly, "But that is not comforting in the least,"

"Indeed,"

Kirk held his breath, torn between pointing his phaser at either K't'l'k or Sarek. After a moment he decided on K't'l'k, "K't'l'k, let Sarek go,"

"Never," she growled, and Sarek jerked forwards, taking a shaky step towards the edge of the cliff.

"Enough!" Spock barked, and when he tried to reach for Sarek, the phaser pointed again and the poor Vulcan had to stop moving.

"Now listen K't'l'k," Kirk said, glancing at Sarek as he slumped into Spock's arms with a series of heavy gasps, "you've been injured. We can help you, we have Star Bases with medical facilities, if you cooperate with us, and release Sarek—"

"I would _never_," K't'l'k snarled, pushing Sarek right towards the edge, "accept help from a filthy War'k!"

"We are not War'ki," Kirk said, remembering the plural she had used, "we are your friends. But if you kill this man it will anger us. You are in no shape for fighting right now, are you? Let Sarek go and let us help you,"

"Captain," Spock said, his anxiety only shown by the quickened pace of his voice, "I would strongly suggest stunning the G'r'l'k,"

"As would I," Sarek said as he stared over the perilous edge.

Kirk's trigger finger twitched, but he didn't fire, "K't'l'k, hear me. We can retrieve your grandmother, what was her name?"

K't'l'k's gaze had ever so slightly softened by now, and her host's hand loosened. She was beginning to listen, "Her name is Mt'gm'r'i."

"Yes, Mt'gm'ri. That is a lovely name, isn't it Spock? You and she can live happily again, as family, somewhere else. There is no need to destroy us. We want friendship, and peace, don't we?"  
"Yes," Spock and Sarek said.

"I grow... tiresome," K't'l'k said, and her hand began to lower, Sarek's muscles began to loosen into his own control, "from travelling for so long among the stars... I am old now, and I am weary. The War'ki destroyed my home, but I could never find them. Never, in those three hundred and thirty two years, could I find them. I have wasted my life. I have wasted Mt'gm'ri's."

"No," Kirk said quickly, "you haven't. That was an experience which you have learnt from. And now you may learn and grow together."

That's when her tears began to fall, "Oh, my, I have wasted my family's life. We could have lived and grown together but I wasted our time. She is nearly dead and I am dying of old age. My fault, I really am a monster."

"You are not a monster," Kirk insisted, wiping his brow of sweat, "You were just confused. I understand. We will all understand in the Federation if you just explain," he lied, trying a smile, "then you can live,"

"I have been alive for four hundred years," she whispered, hugging herself, "but not for one day have I lived,"  
"That is not true at all,"

"I-it is," she gasped, her host sounding like a frightened little girl, "I am such a fool. Listen to me, I am pathetic."

"K't'l'k, listen to me. You are not pathetic," he grabbed Simon's arm, and K't'l'k gave a stifled gasp, "You are just confused, you've been lost for so long. I can understand,"

"Unhand me!" she hissed, and jumped backwards, and took hold of Sarek again, who had only just felt strong enough to stand on his own a few seconds ago.

Spock swung towards the G'r'l'k with a glare so hot with contained fury that it brought to mind the time when Kirk had to force negative emotion into his friend, to force out the spores that were controlling him on the colony, "This is enough. Let my father go," his voice was so chilled that it made Kirk shiver even under the Vulcan suns, "or I will make you,"

K't'l'k laughed shakily, "Do you threaten me, Vulcan?"

"Threatening is illogical when actions can be taken," and to prove is point, the phaser came and K't'l'k was fired at.

"Spock!" Kirk cried.

_Whiriririririiririiririririr _! Squealed the phaser, and K't'l'k's hand, which had been holding Sarek near the edge of the precipice, jerked.

Kirk was too late to catch Spock's father.

Sarek plummeted, and Spock turned, and then began to scream.

* * *

**I'm very sorry that i had to cut this short, and i will update as soon as i can. Review!**


	11. A Vulcan's Secret Tears

...

...

...

...?

_Ears... ringing... damage assessment...six fractured ribs... crushed hand... nose bleeding... broken... arteries... pain, pain, pain..._

_Son... Spock... there, above... here, can... you see me? I am here...Son... Spock..._

_Light fading... here he comes... suns grow dimmer._

"_Father... father..."_

_His hand... touching mine... fingertips touching his face... transfer... transfer... transfer katra... _

_Light fading... gone... tongue dry, heavy... eyes tired... no warmth... nothing now... time gone... empty... cold... _

_..._

_...Spock..._

_..._

_..._

_..._

_..._

Spock jumped downwards from the precipice after his father, springing from rock to rock even though it hurt his ankles and cut his hands. Not his father. Not like this. He knew he had only stunned K't'l'k, but he hoped she had fallen and hit her head. She deserved death.

When K't'l'k had splintered his brain, his emotional barriers had effectively burst, and he was now screaming. Screaming for his father. Screaming at K't'l'k. At everyone. He reached the ground, started sprinting towards his father who lay buckled and broken on the sandy and rocky ground. Green blood stained his robes and seeped from under his body like drenched sponge.

Ribs stuck out from under the skin of the Vulcan, lumps under the white road, now stained emerald. He fell to his knees beside his father, eyes stained with tears.

"F- father! Father!" he wailed, and Sarek grunted in response.

One eye of his fathers' was lost, and his left ear was shredded, the other completely gone.

"Father... father, no! _No_!"

Sarek's mouth turn upwards, just a little bit, and only for a short second, but Spock caught the gesture. Shakily, he took his fathers hand and let the fingertips brush his forehead.

When a Katra is transferred, there is a brief few seconds of communication between the giver and the receiver. Spock knew this, every Vulcan knew this. And his throat tightened like a vice at the sound of his fathers voice.

_Spock_, the voice in his head was fuzzy, but he could make out the words of the exhausted mind of his father, _are you inured?_

_No father. I am unhurt._

_But I am dying._

_No. Your Katra is transferring to me. You will live._

_Then why are you crying?_

Spock's brow furrowed in concentration. _I am sorry father. When... when __**she **__touched my mind._

_I understand what happened, Spock. I do not mind. It may not be logical but it is understandable._

Spock was running out of things to say. His brain hurt, his lungs hurt, his chest was being squeezed by some unseen hand and he came forth with a random sentence. But it was the only thing he could think of to hear his fathers voice one last time.

_Father... why did you call mother beloved?_

And there was no reply.

Spock's eyes opened. He hadn't even realised his fathers hand had dropped, and his body slumped. He knew hat his Katra had been transferred, he knew that he had another chance at life. And he knew, now, that the body of his father, which he was cradling in his arms, was nothing but an empty husk of the man he used to be.

So why could he not stop crying?

Spock tightened his grip around his father, and hugged him close, cheek resting atop his fathers head, and his emotions burst like water from a floodgate. He was being illogical. Completely illogical.

But at that moment, with his dead father his arms, the suppression of emotions seemed highly impractical and ceaselessly vain. He wanted nothing more than to weep. If only for a little while.

"...Spock?"

Kirk.

The man who killed his father.

He may not have been the one to push Sarek over the cliff, but it was his fault all the same.

The voice of his captain was exactly three point nine feet behind him. He was within reach. He turned, slowly as he let his father's body lie, and stood up shakily to face the captain

Kirk's soft brown eyes were warm and kind, and understanding. He tentatively put his hands on Spock's shoulders, and said, "I'm sorry,"

"You should be," Spock rasped, his throat raw from his sobbing, "why did you let him come with us?"

Kirk was a smart man. He knew what Spock was trying to accuse him of.

"Spock, he insisted on coming. Would you have stopped him?"

Spock's head dropped and he lost control completely. He wanted nothing but to have contact. He lurched forwards, knocking Kirk's arms away, and wrapped his arms tightly around Kirk's neck and started to sob again.

Kirk jumped, stunned, but the instinct to hug back was automatic. The embrace lasted for several minutes, and then Spock finally raised his head again. Kirk stared him in the face but Spock wouldn't meet his eyes.

"I am sorry," Spock said slowly, "for my emotional outburst."

"Don't be silly. You have nothing to apologize for. I understand."

Spock wiped his face dry with his hand, "I believe that when K't'l'k touched my mind my emotional barriers—K't'l'k. Where is she?"

"She is still stunned. I think we can recover Simon's mind if we move fast. We must beam up now."

"Aye, sir. I presume we shall be going back to the Colony in the Omicron Delta region?"

"Yes." Kirk tilted his head, "Are you sure you're ok?"

Spock lifted those coal black eyes to Kirk's, and murmured, "No."

Kirk flipped open his communicator with the flick of a wrist, "Kirk to Enterprise."

"_Enterprise. Scott here, sir_."

"Beam us all up, including Simon. Bring a stretcher."

"_What happened? Who's hurt_?"  
"There was... a terrible accident."

"_I understand sir. One moment,"_

Kirk looked at Spock, who was staring at the dead body of his father, "He is still alive within me. I do not understand my emotional outburst. It was most illogical,"

"It was completely logical, Spock!" Kirk barked, "And don't you forget it, ok?"

"Captain... I have a favour to ask."

Kirk nodded, "Yes? Anything Spock."

"Will you please... not inform anyone..."  
"I won't Spock," Kirk assured, "your secret's safe with me."

Spock met his friends eyes thankfully, "I am honoured, Jim, to be your friend."


	12. Dark Skulduggery

Kirk couldn't help but notice how quiet Spock had become over the past three days. He could never seem to start a conversation with his friend in the same easy way that he used to. Most of the questions the captain posed were answered with hardly more than three words. Spock wouldn't speak unless spoken to, and he was spending an abnormal amount of time in the brig, where K't'l'k was being held.

At warp factor four the Enterprise was heading back to the Colony in the Omicron Delta region. Sarek's body was on Vulcan now, his Katra was being transferred back to his body in a few days when the body was fully healed. Sarek's right eye, however, could never be replaced. He would have a fake eye in its place but he would remain have blinded. But still, he could live again!

"Spock," Kirk had said two days ago, "you know that Sarek has a chance at life again, don't you?"  
"Of course I know," Spock had replied almost edgily.

"Then why aren't you happy about it?" Kirk demanded, "It's great news!"

"There is no such thing as great news," Spock answered, meeting Kirk's gaze with those unfathomable black eyes, "there is only news. Whether or not that information has an impact on the receiver is entirely his or her _own_ perspective,"

Kirk had snorted in exasperation. How could his friend be so cold?

"Aren't you happy about that Spock? You should be relieved! Your mother—"

"My mother," Spock said too quietly, "is human,"

And with that he'd turned on his heel and marched from the room, leaving Kirk behind, baffled.

Kirk glanced once again at Spock, who was leaning over his work as usual. The bridge was fairly quiet. That's when Spock tilted his head again. Why did he always do that? He always tilted his head before asking to be excused. Kirk nodded when Spock asked to leave the bridge. He asked to leave once every shift now, since they had left for the Colony. He knew that was when Spock visited the brig.

"Captain, may I be excused for a moment?" The Vulcan asked, as expected.

"Yes. Go ahead."

As soon as Spock was gone Kirk got to his feet. He wanted to know exactly what it was Spock was doing down there. Talking to K't'l'k? Probably. But saying what? _Doing_ what?

"Sulu, take the conn," Kirk ordered as he turned and began to walk.

"Aye sir." The helmsman replied with his usual curt nod.

He hurried to the turbolift, and marched through the hallways until he came to the stairs. These led to the brig, although he never made a habit of visiting.

As he made his way down the long stairway, he fancied he heard footsteps. And maybe low voices. Or perhaps that was his over active imagination. Like he could tell, anyway.

He needed to be quiet. He needed to be _very_ quiet. He reached the ground floor of the brig now, and, tiptoeing down the hallway, he slowly approached K't'l'k's cell. He splayed his hands against the wall with his back to it, and, with his feet carefully placed at every step, the captain peered round the corner.

There sat Spock, legs crossed, in front of K't'l'k's cell. He could see K't'l'k, now in her human form, cowering in the corner. The Vulcan talked in low, hushed tones, and Kirk strained to hear.

"...again. Not again. Please. Please, Mister Spock. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to kill him. It wasn't my fault. It wasn't. It _wasn't_! It was yours!"  
Spock said nothing, and Kirk was chilled to the spine.

"Y- you were the one who fired at me! I lost my grip! _You_ were the cause of your father's death, not me! Stop hurting me!"

Kirk's eyes widened. Surely, Spock wouldn't hurt a fly. Would he? Spock, Kirk knew, was a complex man. He never knew what he would do next. But to hurt another being, even someone like K't'l'k? It wasn't in his nature. That wasn't his best friend. And to hurt a prisoner would get the first officer demoted or even fired! He wouldn't risk his job, he loved it!

"K't'l'k," Spock said softly, "I have never touched you. I have never hurt you. But you have hurt me and I want to know your reason. You have been emotionally compromised. That is obvious. Let me conduct a mind meld. I want to know the steps you took. How you became the creature, the terrorist that you are."

K't'l'k's body shifted, and in it's place was some kind of wolf. Big, black and shaggy. And it prowled around the cage, head down, ears flat and teeth bared as the Vulcan kept talking.

"You have murdered thirty seven people on the Colony in the Omicron Delta region. And you did it in an obvious pattern. It is almost as if you wanted to be caught. Is that true, K't'l'k? Were you striving for capture?"

The beast in the cage snarled and Spock merely blinked. Kirk was unaware how shallow and fast his breathing had become. The wolf's long, catlike tail lashed from side to side, and it's crystal eyes locked on the Vulcan like a photon torpedo on a Klingon war bird.

The beast grunted a sound like a no, and it's form shifted into another beast Kirk had never seen before.

"You confuse me K't'l'k," Spock murmured as he watched the beast pace on it's six limbs, "When I was attacked by you, back on the colony, Sylvia was being attacked by the very beast you walk as now. Surely that was M't'gm'ry, posing as Sylvia."

The beast nodded but its pace never slowed.

"Why was it so important for you to touch my mind?"

"Because," the beast answered in a deep gruff voice, "your mind is special. I wanted to touch your mind and think like you. I needed to get aboard your ship and kill as many people as possible."

"Why? I do not understand your need to kill."

The beast said nothing now, and Spock got to his feet, and dusted off his trousers and straightened his shirt absently, "I see you will not speak. I will meld with you K't'l'k, no matter what I have to do. I will find out what is wrong with you. One more question before I leave. Why did you choose me, and not the captain or McCoy?"

Kirk was already edging words the stairs and his ears strained to catch the next words spoken.

"As I said, your mind is special. And do not think I am finished with you yet. I will touch your mind again Vulcan, no matter how many people I have to kill."

Kirk turned and tiptoed up the stair case. He was amazed he could still hear the conversation between the G'r'l'k and the Vulcan.

"Listen to me K't'l'k," Spock was saying coldy, "if you ever harm anyone aboard this ship, you will have me to answer to."

The beast snorted loudly and it echoed down the hall to the stairway, "What if I were to harm Kirk? What would you do then? Would you kill me? I've been in your mind Vulcan. I know how much you care about him, and I know you'd put your life in danger if it meant saving _his_ life. I could kill him Vulcan. I could kill him in so many ways. I can make it _hurt_-"

"Silence!" came Spock's yell, and Kirk heard the beats whimper, imagining it huddle into the corner again, "Whatever you do to Jim, I will unleash on you tenfold. I will be back again, beast. If you do not answer me I will make you."

_Jesus_, Kirk thought as he climbed the rest of the stairs, _What's wrong with Spock? _

**This little chapter is devoted to AllTrekkedUp, Lolibeagle, and I Heart Star Trek, because they have reviewed again and again! Thank you all!  
Gee, Spock's really far gone now, isn't he? What lengths will he go to to protect his friends? And what has the crafty G'r'l'k got in store for us? Review, and favourite, and tell me your thoughts, and I promise that I will upload the new chapter!**

**I apologize for the shortness, but I'm being pushed for time :/ Thanks curfew...**


	13. Repressed Memory

"What was he talking to K't'l'k about?" McCoy asked as a small glass was filled with alcohol, and Kirk breathed in the distinctive scent of brandy before taking a sip.

A day had passed since Kirk had spied Spock n the brig with the G'r'l'k, and he could contain his suspicions no longer. They were less than four hours to the colony now, and Kirk felt he had to indulge someone with this information. Not that it would help to ease his confusion, as Kirk had not seen Spock in the brig again, but it was to make himself feel better. And the doctor could be a pretty good guy to let steam off with.

"He said he wanted to mind meld with her," Kirk murmured, eyes lowered to the wooden table under his elbows, "to find out why she needs to kill so badly,"

"Well Jim," Bones said in his southern drawl, "I'm no psychologist, but I think I can understand her need to kill."

Kirk met the doctor's blue eyes with a spark of interest, "Tell me."

"Well, she was witness to those aliens, what were they called again? Wark'i? She was witness to them murdering her own people since she was a child. Murder, death and mutilation would become a cycle. A habit. Perhaps even a form of... recreation. Do you see what I'm saying?"

Kirk must've looked lost because Bones sighed irritably and continued, "She kills without thinking. And she kills because she wants to. Kind of like a stress release."

"Spock said," Kirk swirled his brandy on the table tastelessly, "that he thought K't'l'k wanted to be caught because she was killing people in the colony in such an obvious pattern. What could that mean?"

The doctor was quiet in deliberation for a moment or two, "Well, if we accept this premise, perhaps on a subconscious level she was tired of living, and thought that getting caught would kill her. Although, this is just a theory..."

"I think I'm going to lose it Bones," Kirk said, shaking his head, "my head is pounding and my stomach feels like a rock is weighing it down."

Bones' brows knitted in sympathy, "Well then Jim. I want you to sleep before we arrive at the colony, doctors orders. And take a sleeping pill too. It'll knock ya right out."  
"You know what?" Kirk smiled just a little, "I think I can use that. Where is it?"

Bones reached under his desk and pulled out a little metal box from the drawer. From it he took one sleeping pill and placed the purplish tablet in the captain's outstretched hand, "Take a glass of water and let this pill dissolve in it for a few minutes. Then just drink the whole thing. It won't change a different colour, but it'll taste like lavender."

Kirk wrinkled his nose, "Lavender? I've never tasted it."

"It only tastes like herbs, don't be an infant," Bones grinned at Kirk's face, as he no doubt remembered what Bones used to call him, "after that you have ten seconds to fall asleep."  
"It's all very precise isn't it?"

"It has to be. It's called science."

"Well," Kirk said as he stood from the table, "thank you for educating me."

"My pleasure. I'll wake you up just before you get to the colony. Now out you go, I have work to do."  
"You're sitting here with a glass of brandy."

"I didn't say my work was professional, now did I?"

A few minutes later Kirk was on his way to his quarters, but little did he know he was being followed by a being of sly intentions.

* * *

It was by pure luck that Spock had happened to be passing the sickbay when he overheard the doctor and Kirk talking about the sleeping pills. He knew that he could use this to his advantage. All he needed was an opportunity. So, as Kirk was about to leave the sickbay the Vulcan ducked behind the adjacent wall, and Kirk sauntered off, leaving Spock to quietly follow him to his quarters.

Now, to get into Kirk's quarters without being noticed may be difficult. He would have to hope that Kirk would visit the bathroom or change in a different room before he could enter and take the glass which would be filled with the sleeping pill. Unless the captain decided to add the sleeping pill into the drink _after_ he got changed, in which case Spock would have to try something else.

He would prefer not to steal one from the sickbay, as McCoy would certainly notice, what with his obsessive habit of counting his stores of medical products. As he turned the corner he saw the door of the captain's room whoosh shut, and he stood poised outside of it, pointed ear brushing the cold metal.

He bit his lip in anticipation, and, thankfully, heard the fizz of a sleeping pill in a glass of water. Now all he needed was for... yes, the captain was entering another room. Now was his chance.

He slipped quietly into the room, eyes darting around for the glass. His gaze dropped to the bedside table and he inaudibly made his way there. He quickly snatched the glass and left the room, and headed towards the brig again.

The way to the brig was met with silence. Bizarrely, no one was around. Opening the door to the brig, he made his way down the stairs, the steps echoing around the darkish hall.

"K't'lk," Spock said, and the wolf creature looked up with three bright yellow eyes.

Upon seeing the Vulcan, the wolf flicked a lion like tail in annoyance, "You're constant presence irritates me, Vulcan. I can sense M't'g'mry now, we're close to the colony aren't we?"  
"I see four days in prison have not dampened your sharp mind," Spock said with a hint of sarcasm, and then held up the glass which had stopped fizzing, "I have brought you water."

The wolf blinked its three eyes in confusion, "Why?" she asked gruffly, "What's in it?"

Spock sat down before her, legs crossed, and set the drink before himself, "Are you suggesting I would try to poison you, K't'lk?"

The wolf slit all of its eyes, but uttered through her long black muzzle, "I think not, as I have experienced your thought patterns. But I still do not understand your premise."  
Spock tilted his head innocently, "Your supply of water has run out, has it not?"

The wolf glanced over her shaggy black shoulder, staring at the corner, where an empty glass jug lay on its side. She looked back at Spock and said, "I do not believe you are acting out of the kindness of your heart."

Spock wanted to say that kindness wasn't in his nature, as he was a Vulcan, but he could imagine that the G'r'lk would take that the wrong way, so instead he said, "Logic dictates that when one is out of water, one should be brought more. Is that not logical, K't'lk?"

K't'lk slit her yellow eyes, then said, "Alright, slide it through the bars."

Spock cautiously put his hand through the bars, placing the glass before her. A pink flat tongue flitted in and out of the wolf's mouth and soon the water was gone. Spock stood up, as did the wolf, but she cringed as if she had bumped her head on the ceiling. She stared, confused, at the floor and murmured, "What the...?"  
"I did not poison you K't'lk, but is it not obvious what you have been given?"

K't'lk's lips lifted to bare sharp fangs and pink gums, and her eyes began to droop, "You deceitful bastard..." she gasped, and then flopped to her side, legs splayed on the concrete floor as her eyes half shut into unconsciousness.

The Vulcan was almost triumphant as he knelt beside the great beast, fingers splayed over the wolf's skull, behind her three eyes. Both bodies twitched as mental contact was made.

In her sleep, K't'lk's mind was drowsy and slow to react as the Vulcan delved deeper into the depths of the G'r'lk's brain. The room around them, the rusting metal bars, the concrete floors, the cement walls, all seemed to melt, like condensation on a window. It drained around them until there was nothing left, nothing but them, and nothing but their minds.

_300 years ago, the War'ki invaded K'tl'k's home. She heard them before she saw them, their clawed feet thumping and scratching at the floor boards above her. She hid behind her mother and her sister while her grandmother stood, head stooped and furry ears flat, in front of the door. The War'ki slashed at the door with their mighty swords, and soon the door exploded inward, striking K'tl'k's sister in the head. She fell dead instantly._

"_Mother!" screamed K'tl'k's mother, "Take K'tl'k and run!"_

_It wasn't long before her mother was left behind in the room as she and Mt'gm'ry barely made it past the attacking aliens. but as the small Gr'l'k ran, she felt her mother's presence suddenly died away._

K't'lk's body, in real life, started to shake as this repressed memory surface under the Vulcan's fingertips. She couldn't move beneath this meld, her mind was now too real and she hated that feeling. The feeling of her mind taking over her body and flooding it with damaging thoughts. It felt like poison!

_Vulcan_, K't'lk gasped in her mind, _p-please! Why are you doing this to me?_

Spock didn't reply and K't'lk started wailing like a child, _PLEASE! SPOCK PLEASE! I-I BEG YOU!_

And that's when the tendrils of the Vulcan's mental hold began to retract and K't'lk could breathe once again. But that's when the hold tightened and K't'lk felt like brain was going to burst under this pressure. And then the pressure completely disappeared, and her body slumped, and the memories ceased to poison her body.


	14. In the End

**I say this with a heavy heart, my little trekkie/trekker friends, that this shall be the final chapter of **_**The Girl and the Wolf. **_**I hope that this ending will live up to your greatest expectations and you will be completely satisfied. I must have thought of a hundred different endings before I finally decided on this one, it has a fulfilling twist in my opinion ;). Whatever your opinion, it would mean a great deal if you were all kind enough to tell me, please post a review, or at least tell others about it. Now please enjoy this last chapter as much as possible, and live long and prosper!**

* * *

"Captain's log, star date 3245.96. The _Enterprise_ is currently orbiting the colony in the Omicron delta region, in the .7 solar system. We intend to bring Mrs Partridge, otherwise known as Mt'gm'ry, an undercover G'rl'kin spy, onto the Enterprise where she and her grand daughter K't'lk shall be brought to a Star Base to be processed and imprisoned. It is likely that they will face the death sentence, but that is for Star Fleet to decide," the captain took a breath then continued, "I shall then place... Mister Spock in Doctor McCoy's care for as long as it takes to confirm that he is still fit for duty. As soon as he was recovered from K't'lk's mental hold he was simply... not himself. He has become secretive, constantly unfocussed, and perhaps even paranoid. But even so he is fit to accompany the doctor and I down to the colony to apprehend Mt'gm'ry. We have sealed off all exits to the building we know she is residing in, and by the time we had arrived we know she could not have known we were on our way, because K't'lk was asleep and unable to communicate with her. She is still unconscious. It is best that we make our way down to the planet immediately, Kirk out,"

As Kirk entered the transporter room he saw Bones and Spock firstly, and they seemed to be having a serious conversation by the looks on their faces (Well, by the look on the doctor's face, as Spock was always serious). When the door shut with a squeaky whoosh, the two turned their heads to look at him and there was a moment of silence. Kirk looked away awkwardly and met the eyes of Scotty who was standing behind the transporter as usual. A smile sprang onto the captain's face when he saw at least one of his friends smile at him.

"Cap'n, the guards are positioned outside K't'lk's cell as requested,"

"Very good Scotty," the captain (somewhat reluctantly) made his way to his science and chief medical officer, "ready, you two?" he tried to sound cheerful.

Spock nodded, and McCoy said, "Ready as I'll ever be,"

"Ready to beam down, cap'n?" asked Scotty.

The three made their way to the platform. The transporter would beam them down to the entrance to the building, where Mt'gm'ry would be waiting, ignorant of her dire situation. The guards would stay stationed outside of K't'lk's cell, and make sure that she stayed there. The G'r'lk on the planet would have to give herself up, she wouldn't stand a chance against the guards.

"Yes Scotty, we're ready," Kirk said, and when he looked back expectantly at his friends his mood changed to a grim way.

Spock was so... _different_. Where was the intelligent, loyal, and logical man Kirk used to know? Now, Spock was just... vengeful. Vengeful, and dark, and sinister. Kirk was nearly frightened. Not so much of him personally but of how he was changing and of the effects that would have on him. For the first time since he was a boy, he thought of the saying his father had told him, one that the captain now realised had never been more true to him as they were now.

He tried a little smile when he passed the Vulcan, and placed his hand on his shoulder, taking him by surprise, "Are you ok to go? No one will think differently of you if -"

"Jim," he stared at him with his coal black eyes, which now seemed to take on a new kind of darkness, "I'm fine. Alright?"

Kirk removed his hand, nodded once, glanced at Bones whose expression of surprise was almost comical. The three along with two security guards stood in the transporter.

"Energize," Kirk said.

The three dematerialised, and Scotty heaved a heavy sigh.

"Good luck Jim," he said wearily.

And that's when the door opened and there stood a golden haired girl.

* * *

"Mt'gm'ry," the captain said as he entered the place where the two had first met, "You're under arrest,"

The room they were in was kind of like a huge office, with only one table seated near a stain glass window. On the window there was depicted one huge wolf, its head raised to the sky in a howl. The room was tall, but not that long, and in the centre of the ceiling hung a chandelier made out of what looked like the sharp antlers of an animal Kirk had seen long ago on some distant planet.

The old woman looked up, long earrings dangling around her aged, wrinkled face. Her small eye glanced at all three of the men, and a small smile crossed her face, "I suppose our disguise wasn't perfect after all."

"No," Spock said, eyes slitting, "obviously not. Were you even trying to stay hidden, Mt'gm'ry?"

Her little smile faded, lips pressed in a straight line, "A small part of me wanted to be captured, yes, Spock."

The three of them slowly made their way towards the frail old woman, phaser directly pointed at her, and set to stun, "I want to know why," Bones said seriously, "you have allowed your granddaughter, if she even _is_ your grand daughter, to possess the mind of our ships first officer and cause perhaps irreversible damage to his mind."

"Doctor—"

"Shut up, Spock!" the doctor barked, and snapped his head back towards the old woman, "he's become paranoid vengeful and the Spock we knew is gone! What has K't'lk done to our friend and what can I do to help him?"

Mrs Partridge nodded forebodingly, eyes closed, "Yes, Doctor McCoy, something can be done,"

"What is it?" Kirk and the doctor demanded, while Spock stood somewhat awkwardly between them.

Mrs Partridge said simply, "He must find the strength within himself to become who he once was. He has not changed Doctor. He is the same man he ever was, but his emotions are bubbling to the surface. This is the kind of man he would be if he were human. You are looking at an entirely human Spock."

The three men were stunned to silence. Eventually, Spock said, "Ridiculous. I am unchanged. I merely have a motive, and now that that is completed I am no different than I was before I visited the colony."

Mrs Partridge smiled sadly, "Really Spock? Have you achieved your motive?"

"Yeah Spock," Bones said lowly, bringing to Kirk's mind the good old days, "what was your motive? What did you need that sleeping pill for?"  
Spock sighed inwardly, "I needed it to access K't'lk's mind. I wanted to know her own reasons for killing people. But it is obvious now. The only thing I don't understand is why you didn't stop her, Mt'gm'ry."

The old woman rolled one shoulder passively, "What would be the point?"

"What would be the _point_?" Kirk demanded, "_What_ would be the _point_?! Lives would not have been lost! Those people you killed, they had families, friends! You have allowed those innocent people to be destroyed for no reason but your own negligence and inaction,"

Mrs Partridge's lips pressed into a thin line.

"If you had just been courageous enough to stay on your home planet all those years ago, perhaps you could've helped. You don't even know if your people won or lost against the war'ki do you? How can you stand it? Why do you stay?! To lazy?"

Mrs Partridge shot up from her sitting position and snarled, "Do you think I haven't tried?! Do you think I like wasting my life away on this pathetic rock? Do you? You'd be wrong! I hate myself for staying here but I can't do anything about it! The ship crashed!"

"At the very least you could have lived here in peace!" Kirk countered loudly, "Obviously if you left your planet three hundred years ago, this wasn't the first planet you landed on, so why kill these people? Did you kill the others? What the hell happened to make you want to kill people?"

"The things I've seen!" Mrs Partridge roared in her croaky voice.

Her words were met with a stony silence.

Kirk was already pretty wound up, but he didn't want to make her any angrier. Who knows what she might have done. So, he took a deep breath, aware of his friends watching him in astonishment.

On the exhale he said, "Alright Mt'gm'ry. Let's both calm down for a minute. You are arrested under charge of murder, attempted murder, and... I don't know. Possibly littering."

Mrs Partridge smirked slightly in amusement, her anger gone, "Alright captain. I have nothing to live for anymore, do I? The death sentence I inevitable, I may as well get it over with,"

Kirk glanced up at Spock, but his face was placid as he looked at the captain and said, "I never realised that you were funny."

Mrs Partridge stepped from behind her office table, and then cast her gaze fleetingly over Kirk's shoulder. Kirk caught this, and turned around, and there stood Sylvia, adorned with her red cloak and the silken red hood hung over her forehead. Her face was sweating and her breath came in ragged gasps.

"Kt'l'k!" the three chorused, and aimed there phasers directly at the girl.

She was so full of adrenaline that she kept changing shape like some flitting spectre, to wolf to girl to god knows what else. Spock rocked back on his heels as the wolf came out of nowhere beside him and snatched the phaser from his hands.

Kirk felt a sharp pain on his arm, which soon escalated to a white hot agony. It took him a second to realise the wolf had moved from Spock to him in a split second and was clamping her long teeth into his arm. He shook desperately, and the flitting being let go. Kirk fell back as soon as the hard grip was loosened and fell into McCoy's ready arms.

Kirk looked up from the floor, past Spock, and realised that Sylvia and Mrs Partridge were standing hand in hand. He noticed that the girl was still holding the phaser she'd stolen from Spock, and was now pointing it skyward, right at the horned chandelier.

Spock froze.

Bones' eyes widened.

Kirk sat up just as the phaser fired, "NO!"

The chandelier came crashing down, and Kirk felt, with a shiver of revulsion, something splatter his face.

"Jesus Christ," Bones murmured.

The Vulcan, who had been standing just to the right of Kirk, let out an audible sigh and closed his weary eyes, hanging his head, "She's gone... she's finally..."

Kirk new that Spock meant something other than K'tl'k's departure from life.

* * *

**13 DAYS LATER**

Spock stood patiently just outside of the Temple, the two Vulcan suns pouring heat and light down his boiling skin. He had waited now for more than two weeks for the resurrection of his father, and as soon as the stone doors creaked open, Spock knew he would see his father again.

The elderly Vulcan stepped out of the shadow of the temple and into the baking sun, squinting as he did so, and Spock felt a rush of emotion that he immediately suppressed. As he always did.

He walked to greet his father, and held his hand up in the Vulcan salute, "Father,"

Sarek mirrored the gesture, "Hello Spock,"

"I am deeply relieved to see that you are unharmed," Spock said, very nearly smiling, "How do you feel?"

"I am glad to say I feel again son, why don't we leave it at that?"

Spock nodded, hiding his little smile, and when he looked up at his father again he said with a placid expression, "Father, I have just realised that you never answered my question,"

Sarek raised an eyebrow, "What question?"

"Before you died, I asked you why you called Mother beloved,"

"That is her name," Sarek replied, and Spock raised his pointed eyebrow. Sarek said in an understanding voice, "Spock, surely, with all of your years of studying the English language, you have not come across the literal translation of Amanda?"

* * *

**Revenge is a poison meant for others, that we end up swallowing ourselves.**


End file.
